Fantasy managers in shambles as Jordan Mason suffers brutal blow against Seahawks - "Take my whole team" 

Jordan Mason had been performing well for the San Francisco 49ers in relief of Christian McCaffrey, but then something bad happened on Thursday night.

During the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks, the running back suffered an apparent shoulder injury after being tackled by safety Julian Love and had to be withdrawn from the game. At the time, he had rushed eight times for 65 yards and caught a nine-yard pass:

And soon, every fantasy manager who had him on their rosters was aghast at the development:

More reactions soon followed from fans on X/Twitter:

"I literally traded for him today," one fan rued.

"He's done for a few weeks at least," another fan predicted.

"COME ON BACK SOLDIER MY PARLAY NEEDS YOU," one fan begged.

Fortunately, Mason would eventually return early in the third quarter. His ensuing nine-yard rush put him past Charlie Garner for the most rushing yards in the first six games of a season in 49ers history.

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Offseason work a key factor in Jordan Mason's recent run of success

While Jordan Mason's recent exploits have been a great boon for a team that is struggling without its premier offensive threat, they almost did not happen.

With Christian McCaffrey firmly entrenched as the RB1, he had to find a way to get playing time. So he got to work during the offseason.

In addition to the standard coaching, he bought a $3,000 jugs machine to improve his pass catching and worked with the 49ers' linebackers to improve his tackle-breaking, and it paid off.

One of those linebackers, Derek Flannigan-Flowers, himself a former undrafted free agent, told The Mirror about the fruit of these efforts:

"It means everything, man. You can see Jordan's growth each and every single year," Flannigan-Flowers said. "We always knew what kind of player he was, so for him to ball out and get his recognition now, it means a lot."

Another UDFA, free agent center Jake Brendel, shared his insights:

"By listening to the coaches [and] the critiques and trusting his instincts, I think [Mason] is really becoming the best running back he can be...," Brendel said. "Even back when he was a rookie, we all saw that he had great potential... that he could get it done at a high level. So I don't think the team's surprised at all about his performance."

As for Mason, he could only marvel at how long the process of developing himself went:

"Just stay patient and the time will come."

As of this writing, the 49ers lead the Seahawks 23-17 at the end of the third quarter.